Nursing bottle and nipple construction



Nov. 12, 1957 .L. R. CRISP 2,812,764

NURSING BOTTLE AND NIPPLE CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 12, 1955 Lonnie R. Crisp ATTQRNE United States Patent M NURSING BOTTLE AND NIPPLE CONSTRUCTION Lonnie Ray Crisp, San Antonio, Tex.

Application December 12, 1955, Serial No. 552,323

1 Claim. (Cl. 128252) This invention relates to improvements in nursing botties and nipples.

It is well known that nursing infants very often have difficulty in proper positioning the bottle and the nipple for effective feeding. It is an object of this invention to provide a nursing nipple adapted for angular attachment to nursing bottles out of the axial line of the bottle in order that the mouth inserting end of the nipple may overhang the side of the bottle to facilitate feeding.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a flexible elongated type of nursing nipple for nursing bottles which may be positioned in various axial relationships with respect to the axis of the nursing bottle for the purpose of properly positioning the nipple upon the bottle to suit the characteristic position of an infant at the time of feeding.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a nursing nipple having means for attachment to a conventional nursing bottle under such circumstances that the elongated nipple portion will be positioned at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bottle.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved type of cap and nipple for nursing bottles in which the nipple may be adjusted in axial alignment with the axis of the cap and the nursing bottle, or swung laterally to acutely angled positions with respect to the axis of the cap and bottle to suit the comfort and convenience of the infant during feeding.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent during the course of the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through the upper part of a conventional nursing bottle, showing one form of my improved nipple.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a nipple having some of the characteristics of the nipple shown in Figure 1, but with a somewhat different shape.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through another improved type of nipple and cap whereon the nipple may be adjusted to suit the desires and posture of the infant during nursing.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the nipple and cap shown in Figure 3.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration are shown preferred and modified forms of the invention, the letter A may generally designate a conventional type of nursing bottle, adapted to receive my improved nipples B or C. I may provide a modified form of cap D for conventional nursing bottles having associated therewith an improved nipple E mounted upon the cap for adjustment to various positions with respect to the plane of the cap.

The nursing bottle A consists of a body of glass or any suitable plastic material, having an externally screw 2,812,764 Patented Nov. 12, 1957 ice threaded neck 11 provided with a passageway 12 therethrough. i i i The cap 13 may be of thermo-setting plastic or any approved material. It includes a top wall 14 having a nipple receiving passageway 15 therethrough and side walls 16 internally screw threaded at 17 for engaging with the screw threads 11 of the bottle neck. The bottle may include the conventional flange 18 to limit downward adjustment of the cap upon the bottle.

The nipples B, C and E are preferably formed of flexible rubber or rubber like material.

The nipple B preferably includes a flat base 20 and an upwardly and laterally extending elongated nipple body 21 the axis 22 of which is at an acute angle with respect to the axis 23 of the bottle and its cap. The body 21 is sufficiently long that the mouth inserting end and tip project for an appreciable distance laterally of the extreme side margin of the cap wall 16. This overhang is designated in Figure 1 where the line 24 represents the other side surface of the cap.

The nipple B preferably includes a mouth inserting cylindrical portion 25 having the enlarged tip 26 with an opening 27 therethrough. Intermediate its ends the nipple 21 is laterally enlarged at 28 and downwardly therefrom the nipple is reduced at 29 and then enlarged at 30. This portion 30 is integrally connected with the base 20 and defines a very large chamber 31 for entrance of the milk into the nipple. Above the top surface of the wall 14 the nipple may have an outwardly extending retaining flange 35 which can be deformed to permit removal andplacement of the nipple through the opening 15 of thecap 13.

The nipple B when attached to the cap of the bottle has the base 20 clamped between the under surface of the top wall 14 and the top edge of the neck of the bottle as shown in Figure 1. i

The nipple C substantially conforms to the angular characteristics of the nipple B. It has a base 20 similar to the base 20 of nipple B. A flange 35 corresponds'to the flange 35 of the nipple B. The bottle cap top wall is inserted in the space 4 0 between the flange 35 and the base 20*. The nipple C includes a large bulbular portion 41 immediately above the flange 35 which continues with a reducing diameter. It has a cylindrical portion 25 which corresponds to the portion 25 of the nipple 21. The nipple tip 26 corresponds to the nipple tip 26 of the form of invention B and has a feed aperture therethrough (not shown). It is noted that the axis 43 of the nipple portion 25 is disposed at an acute angle to the bottle axis 44, which is at right angles to the plane of the base 20.

Referring to the form of invention shown in Figures 3 and 4 I prefer to provide an elongated nipple E formed upon a straight line axis. It has a ball and socket type connection upon the cap D in order that the nipple may be axially aligned with the axis of the cap D or moved to any of several acutely angled positions with respect to the axis of the cap and bottle, such as shown by the dot and dash lines in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings.

The cap D is preferably of some thermo-setting plastic or other desirable material, including an annular side wall 50 internally screw threaded at 51 and having a top wall 52 provided with a depending central nipple supporting wall 53, the outer surfacing of which is spaced from the screw threads 51. This wall 53 terminates at its bottom edge in a plane above the plane of the bottom edge of the side walls 50. The wall 52 and the depending nipple supporting wall 53 provides a passageway 54 therethrough, defining a receiving socket 54 the surfacing of which is concaved. Where the socket 54 opens into the bottom of the cap it is restricted and therefrom gradually increases in width to a point intermediate the height of the socket 54. From there the socket 54 decreases in width to the point 56 Where it opens upon the top wall 52. The top wall 52 is bevelled at 57 for a short arc, between the points 58 and 59. The nipple may be rotatably adjusted through this are and laterally angled between the dot and dash line positions shown in Figure 4.

The nipple E preferably includes a segmental ball type base 60 which is appreciably thicker than the walls of the other part of the nipple, to stiffen the same, although the base '60 is flexible and deformable so that the nipple B may be placed within and removed with respect to the socket 54. The chamber 62 in the nipple base 60 opens at a location within in the cap wall 53. The nipple E includes an elongated flexible nipple portion 65 preferably having a limiting bulge 66 intermediate the ends thereof. Its tip 67 may be enlarged and provided with the usual liquid passageway 68 therethrough.

The hemispherical base portion 60 of the nipple fits tionally engages the socket surfacing throughout the major height thereof and With sufiicient force to retain the position of the nipple during feeding. Limiting the bevel 57 to the arc shown in Fig. 5, which is less than 180 permits the hemispherical base to have sufi'icient gripping surfacing in the socket 54 to maintain the position of it in properly adjusted location.

The wall 50 of the cap D engages the screw threads of a conventional nursing bottle neck such as shown in Figure 1. It will be noted that not only can the nipple E be positioned in the line of the axis of the milk bottle, but it may be laterally angled to any of several positions between the limiting shoulders 58 and 59, and the overhang thereof extends laterally beyond the outer side surfacing of the cap wall 50 notwithstanding that the axis of 'the nipple from end to end constitutes a single straight flange which is internally screw-threaded, said top wall centrally thereof having an opening, a depending central snugly in the moulded plastic cap socket 50 and fricnipple supporting wall connected to the top wall the lower edge of which terminates in a plane above the lower edge of the attaching wall of the cap, said nipple supporting wall having a socket therein which communicates with the opening of the top wall of the cap, said socket having internal concaved walls facing the axis of the socket struck from a single radius and so located that the top of said socket is of a width less than the width of said socket intermediate the height thereof, and the bottom of the socket having a restricted opening which is also of less width than the intermediate width of said socket, and a flexible single piece nipple comprising a flexible segmental ball-shaped lower anchoring portion which is hollow and has an enlarged chamber therein, said segmental ball-shaped portion having an outer convex surfacing which is in intimate contact with the entire concave surfacing of the socket of the cap, the lower edge of the nipple when the nipple is in axial alignment with the axis 'of the cap terminating in a plane above the lower edge of the socket of said cap and with the upper portion of the segmental ball portion projecting above the top surfacing of the cap, said segmental ball portion having an elongated body portion in the same axial line as the axis of the segmental ball portion having a passageway therethrough communicating with the chamber of said segmental ball portion, said body portion at its outer end having a feeding opening therein, said cap in a top wall thereof for a distance of less than being grooved around the opening therein and the ends of said groove defining shoulders against which the body portion of the nipple will contact when the nipple is angularly disposed with its axis out of line with the axis of the cap whereby to limit the movement of the nipple in a plane parallel with the plane of the cap through an arc of less than 180.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 956,741 Smith May 3, 1910 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,781 Germany Sept. 21, 1877 11,851 Great Britain July 28, 1894 84,970 Germany Aug. 10, 1921 1,052,652 France Sept. 23, 1953 

